Monday, August 24, 2015

Washington, DC (August 24)—Several organizations,
representing hundreds of thousands of supporters, applauded today Rep. Betty
McCollum (D-MN) for raising concerns with the State Department about the cases
of Nadeem Nawarah, 17, and Mohammad Abu Daher, 16, two Palestinian children killed
by Israeli forces on May 15, 2014 during a protest in the occupied West Bank.

Closed circuit security cameras fixed on the building near where
the boys were shot captured both shootings. The video,
obtained and released by Defense for Children International Palestine (DCIP),
depicts both boys collapsing to the ground after being shot, and their lifeless
bodies being carried away off camera by other protesters. Forensic analysis of
the video footage showed that neither boy posed any lethal or imminent threat
to Israeli forces at the time they were killed.

McCollum’s letter reads in part: “As these killings
exemplify, Israel’s treatment of Palestinian youth in the Occupied West Bank is
unacceptable and must not be tolerated by the U.S. or the international
community. Systemic human rights abuses
are well documented, including the physical and psychological abuse of
Palestinian children held in military detention. The murders of Nadeem Nawara
and Mohammad Daher only highlight a brutal system of occupation that devalues
and dehumanizes Palestinian children. It
is time for a strong and unequivocal statement of U.S. commitment to the human
rights for Palestinian children living under Israeli occupation.”

McCollum also called on the State Department to investigate
whether these killings constitute violations of the “Leahy Law.” If so, the “38th Company of the Israeli
Border Police should be ineligible to receive future U.S. military aid and
training and all border police involved in this incident should be denied U.S.
visas as stipulated by the law.”

Brad Parker, International Advocacy Officer & Attorney
for Defense for Children International Palestine stated: “Without
accountability, Palestinian children like Nadeem and Mohammad will continue to
experience systematic and widespread human rights violations as a result of
Israel's prolonged military occupation of Palestinians. The status quo of
systemic impunity is not sustainable. Rep. McCollum's letter and leadership is
a strong challenge to the impunity enjoyed by Israeli forces, and we hope it
will lead to increased pressure from US lawmakers to ensure that Israeli
authorities hold perpetrators accountable."

“Too often, Israel’s grave human rights abuses of
Palestinians children living under military occupation go unnoticed or are
dismissed by our elected officials, despite the fact that US taxpayers foot the
bill for Israel’s military occupation to the tune of more than $3 billion each
year. We trust that Rep. McCollum’s strong letter to the State Department will
at least ensure that Israel is held accountable by the United States for the
killings of Nadeem Nawarah and Mohammad Abu Daher,” stated Josh Ruebner, Policy
Director for the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation.

Kate Gould, the lead Middle East policy advocate at the
Friends Committee on National Legislation, said: “Increasingly, lawmakers are
hearing from Americans that they don’t want their taxes to fund police violence
at home or abroad. This incriminating video is a harrowing reminder of the
dangers for children and youth living under military occupation. We applaud
Congresswoman McCollum’s leadership in prioritizing the human rights of all
children.”

Rebecca Vilkomerson, Jewish Voice for Peace

Rebecca Vilkomerson, Executive Director of Jewish Voice for
Peace, noted her hope that “Representative McCollum’s leadership in demanding
justice for Nadeem Nawarah and Mohammad Abu Daher is a sign that US political
leaders are becoming more willing to confront the endemic nature of Israeli
impunity when it comes to treatment of Palestinians and focus on ending
Israel’s brutal occupation with increased urgency.”

Sunjeev Bery, Amnesty International USA’s Advocacy Director for
the Middle East and North Africa, stated:
“The Israeli forces’ unlawful killings of these two Palestinian boys
demonstrates the brutality Palestinian civilians face under Israeli military
occupation. The Obama Administration
should stop supplying arms to Israel and back a UN arms embargo on all parties
to the conflict. It is time for the U.S.
government to end its opposition to a possible investigation of the situation
by the International Criminal Court."

"As an occupier, Israel is obligated under
international law to protect Palestinians. As a recipient of US foreign
military assistance, Israel is obligated under American law to uphold human
rights," said Osama Abuirshaid, American Muslims for Palestine policy
director. "We thank Rep. McCollum for taking on this important issue and
we ask the State Department to heed her call for an investigation into Leahy
Law violations and to raise the protection of Palestinian children to priority
status in our relationship with Israel."

An annual U.S. State Department human rights report released on June 25
included the killings of Nawarah and Abu Daher. The annual country reports on
human rights practices include a specific section covering the situation of
human rights in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT). It raised a number of issues related to Israel’s
ill-treatment of Palestinian child prisoners and denial of fair trial rights in
Israeli military courts, and grave violations against Palestinian children,
including the killing and maiming of Palestinian children and attacks on
schools in Gaza by Israeli forces.

DCIP commissioned the UK-based multidisciplinary study
group,Forensic
Architecture, to conduct a detailed forensic video analysis of the
video footage. The result was clear video, audio and spatial evidence, released on
November 20, 2014, that identified Nadeem’s assailant.

Take Action: Tell Congress to Support Justice for Nadeem Nawarah, Mohammad Abu Daher

Me, Siam Nawarah, Brad Parker of Defense for Children International Palestine, lobbying for #Justice4Nadeem on Capitol Hill.

I began my career on Capitol Hill more than 15 years ago and I’ve been watching Congressional politics around Israel and the Palestinians closely ever since.

In all that time, I don’t remember a statement in support of Palestinian rights as forceful as this letter sent last week by Rep. Betty McCollum (D-MN) to the State Department.

In it, McCollum expresses concern about Israel’s killing of two Palestinian children—Nadeem Nawarah and Mohammad Abu Daher—during Nakba Day protests last year.

“As these killings exemplify, Israel’s treatment of Palestinian youth in the Occupied West Bank is unacceptable and must not be tolerated by the U.S. or the international community,” McCollum wrote. “The murders of Nadeem Nawara and Mohammad Daher only highlight a brutal system of occupation that devalues and dehumanizes Palestinian children. It is time for a strong and unequivocal statement of U.S. commitment to the human rights for Palestinian children living under Israeli occupation.”

McCollum also called on the State Department to investigate whether the38th Company of the Israeli Border Police—the unit which killed Nadeem and Mohammad—violated the “Leahy Law” and to sanction the unit and individuals involved if so.

Earlier this month I had the honor and privilege of accompanying Siam Nawarah as he visited the Hill and State Department lobbying for justice for his murdered son.

Abu Nadeem, as he prefers to be called, is truly an extraordinary person, as profiled in this Electronic Intifada story. He single-handedly collected all the evidence, including evidence obtained through his excruciating decision to exhume his son’s body and have an autopsy performed, which resulted in the arrest of the Israeli border policeman who killed Nadeem, an extremely rare occurrence.

Abu Nadeem has sold his car and his business to pursue justice for his son Nadeem, Mohammad Abu Daher, and all Palestinian children subjected to the brutality of Israeli occupation. The least we can do to help him is to take action today.

Wednesday, August 19, 2015

Learn from Resistance Leaders from Ferguson to Palestine!

This month marks one year that the black youth of Ferguson have maintained what some are calling the second longest protest in U.S. history -- after the Montgomery Bus Boycott. For more than 365 days, the world has watched and learned from extraordinary black resistance leaders who, like the people of Palestine, will not be silent in the face of state violence and oppression.

One of those leaders has been Reverend Osagyefo Sekou, a St. Louis native from member organization Fellowship of Reconciliation, who has mentored, challenged, entertained, and led the way for many of us in Ferguson and St. Louis since the beginning. Many of you may have seen him on the cover of The New York Times last week after he was arrested with more than 50 others in a creative, nonviolent, clergy-led direct action as part of the one-year commemoration of the killing of Mike Brown. The night before he was arrested, Sekou spoke to a cheering crowd of hundreds in Ferguson about the injustices of the Israeli occupation of Palestine, welcoming the father of a Palestinian martyr to take the stage with him. Today, I am thrilled to announce that Rev. Sekou will be a keynote speaker at our upcoming National Conference in Atlanta September 25-27 -- just 5 weeks away! Discounted registration ENDS THIS FRIDAY. Have you registered yet?One of the most dynamic speakers I have ever seen, Rev. Sekou will be joined by countless other extraordinary voices including Palestinian poet Remi Kanazi, Dream Defenders co-founder Ahmad Abuznaid,#BlackLivesMatter co-founder Patrisse Cullors, Palestinian Youth Movement organizer Loubna Qutami, Ruby Sales of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (1963-1966), Baltimore resistance leader and Palestinian rights advocate Rev. Dr. Heber Brown III, and many, many others. Last year’s conference was incredible -- epic. But I am not exaggerating when I say Atlanta could be our most ground-breaking conference yet. You do not want to miss it!... ... Because 2015 marks 10 years since the BDS call and more than 100 U.S. victories, transforming us from a marginal movement to a force to be reckoned with by Congress and presidential candidates! ... Because never before have the connections and solidarity between people of color here and in Palestine struggling for freedom manifested so visibly and powerfully as in the last year. ... Because what better way to spend a weekend than meeting amazing activists and learning from each other?

We will share our wisdom and learn from generations of leaders about how to build a mass movement supporting for justice for all and resistance to racism from Baltimore to Susiya, from Alabama to Palestine and beyond.

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